Smallest Oscilloscopes? (ebay USA, used)

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

I have have a VERY small workbench, need to keep the scope small.

Want to get my feet wet with a budget yet quality CRT scope.

What models have the smallest footprint?

Will be purchasing on ebay USA, shipping to USA.

No money for modern LCD scope. Do not want a USB scope. Do not want a DIY kit scope.


Cheerio,

[bd139]

Look at Japanese ones, particularly Yogokawa. They sold vertical form factor digital ones with magnetic CRTs. You can’t really get a decent analogue electrostatic CRT that isn’t deep because of the design of the tube.

I have the same problem and used an analogue scope sitting pointing upwards on the floor for years that got put in the hall when I was done with it. Using digital scope now.

[eurofox]

This one is very small and full featured analog scope. 
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/test-measurement/oscilloscopes/lbo-324/
I got one from a member of the forum in new condition.

I have as well 2 digital scopes 

[Mechatrommer]

Want to get my feet wet with a budget yet quality CRT scope.
No money for modern LCD scope. Do not want a USB scope. Do not want a DIY kit scope.

i'm afraid you will fall into false economy trap...

[edavid]

You will see a lot of candidates listed in this previous thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vintage-miniature-oscilloscopes-how-many-were-there/

The Leader LBO-324/LBO-325 is indeed one of the nicer ones, but I don't think it's very reliable.

Many of the otherwise good choices have inputs or controls located on the sides or top, so don't work very well on a bench (e.g. Iwatsu SS-3510).

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

Thanks for all the input so far guys.

The thread linked seems to be specific to "vintage" scopes, how posters are interpreting that word seems to be "old".

I want something use-able for basic diagnosis, what minimum MHz should I be looking at?
*edit* The popular beginner Rigol DS1054Z is 50 MHz, so I'm going to stick with that as a point of reference till told otherwise?

Reliability is important, don't want something incredibly tiny yet obscure.

What's the Honda Civic of CRT oscilloscopes? Is it reasonably small?

[edavid]

The thread linked seems to be specific to "vintage" scopes, how posters are interpenetrating that word seems to be "old".

All CRT scopes are vintage.

("Interpenetrating"  )

[eugenenine]

Tektronix 212,213,214

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

The thread linked seems to be specific to "vintage" scopes, how posters are interpenetrating that word seems to be "old".

All CRT scopes are vintage.

("Interpenetrating"  )

Not necessarily.

People often misinterpret the word vintage.

Sorry, spell check butchered that one real good.

[blackberriesandthinkpads]

Tektronix 212,213,214

Very small! Is the 500 kHz bandwidth even use-able though?

It seems Tektronix is the standard brand for scopes?

[eugenenine]

Very small! Is the 500 kHz bandwidth even use-able though?

You didn't list bandwidth requirements in the original post.  I therefore have submitted an adequate solution based on the given requirements. 

It seems Tektronix is the standard brand for scopes?

I owned a 212 before it was stolen so because of that I happened to know of its small size.

FWIW, my bench is 21" x 21"

[lundmar]

I want something use-able for basic diagnosis, what minimum MHz should I be looking at?
*edit* The popular beginner Rigol DS1054Z is 50 MHz, so I'm going to stick with that as a point of reference till told otherwise?

Reliability is important, don't want something incredibly tiny yet obscure.

You will be hard pressed to find anything much smaller than a DS1000Z series scope with same features and price point.

I've bought the DS1054Z a couple of yeas ago and I'm very pleased with it in my compact lab configuration.

Also, rumors are that it is possible to simply firmware upgrade the DS1054Z to a 100 Mhz scope with double the trace memory. However, I can not deny nor confirm such shenanigans.

[Mechatrommer]

("Interpenetrating"  )

i wish i could post a picture describing the word...

Also, rumors are that it is possible to simply firmware upgrade the DS1054Z to a 100 Mhz scope with double the trace memory. However, I can not deny nor confirm such shenanigans.

rumors? the "rumors" has been in 2 generations of scopes, not just double the memory, but decoding capabilty etc. and its exactly sitting on my bench right now, the older one (DS1052E -> DS1102E) i handed to sibling long time ago. welcome to the forum...

I want something use-able for basic diagnosis, what minimum MHz should I be looking at?
*edit* The popular beginner Rigol DS1054Z is 50 MHz, so I'm going to stick with that as a point of reference till told otherwise?

BW is not just deciding criteria nowadays, things like serial decoder, persistence view, normal trigger (and hold) for intermittent signals etc also need to be considered. vintage.. err... old scope is ok if you want to stay away from arduino like circuit or modern SPI, I2C chip etc... or you are in deep love to analog circuitry only. you dont want to setup long exposure camera for asking question in forum do you?

here example of 50MHz CRT (not the smallest footprint though, cant help you with that), http://www.ebay.com.my/itm/TEKTRONIX-2225-50MHz-TWO-CHANNEL-OSCILLOSCOPE-/263029256457?hash=item3d3dc3f109:g:cgUAAOSw9~5ZOwOO no capability mentioned above, just the BW, its near half the price of modern DSO (unless you can find some university donating to you), and then no probe no nothing, you have to buy additional parts to do what you want, not to mention how long that thing is gonna survive. in the end you need to buy another scope and fall into false economy trap, thats what i'm afraid of... my little advice all be it not exactly on topic is, work hard, save up and get a descent modern (new) DSO, i spent 7 years in work before i can get myself a DSO scope. MIGSIG 1104 or whatever the name is is good candidate for smallest footprint... ymmv...

[lundmar]

Also, rumors are that it is possible to simply firmware upgrade the DS1054Z to a 100 Mhz scope with double the trace memory. However, I can not deny nor confirm such shenanigans.

rumors? the "rumors" has been in 2 generations of scopes, not just double the memory, but decoding capabilty etc. and its exactly sitting on my bench right now, the older one (DS1052E -> DS1102E) i handed to sibling long time ago. welcome to the forum...

So, its true, Americans and Malaysians don't understand the subtle art of sarcasm ha ha

[Fungus]

I want something use-able for basic diagnosis, what minimum MHz should I be looking at?
*edit* The popular beginner Rigol DS1054Z is 50 MHz, so I'm going to stick with that as a point of reference till told otherwise?

The DS1054Z is really a 100MHz 'scope that's been limited to 50MHz by the firmware. You can easily unlock one (and almost everybody here does it).

If your bench is small then a DS1054Z is only 12cm deep.

What's the Honda Civic of CRT oscilloscopes? Is it reasonably small?

No. CRT tubes are long, They're made of glass and that's just the shape they come in. If you want a short one it will have a tiny screen.

Want to get my feet wet with a budget yet quality CRT scope.
No money for modern LCD scope. Do not want a USB scope. Do not want a DIY kit scope.

i'm afraid you will fall into false economy trap...

Yep.

[rstofer]

There's nothing wrong with a scope like the Tek 485 standing upright on the floor.  It can be kicked under the bench for storage.

About the only reason I can see for buying a used analog scope is bandwidth.  You can get BW a lot cheaper on an old analog scope.  The 485 is good for 350 MHz, the DS1054Z is just 100 MHz.  When i bought it a dozen or more years back, the 485 was $200 and the DS1054Z is on the order of $400.  One is brand new with a warranty (until I changed the fan, upgraded the rotary encoder and unlocked the features) and the other is "USED".  Fortunately, it works.

Every other feature beyond bandwidth favors the digital scope.  Single shot mode being the most important.  The utility of this feature can not be overstated!  Decoding is cool, 4 channels is really nice for decoding SPI, measurements are great - none of this stuff is available on my 485.  All it has is bandwidth.

[David Hess]

You need to reconsider your options.  There are a couple of small analog oscilloscopes which may meet your requirements like the Tektronix SC504 however I would not recommend them unless you are prepared to maintain them which will not be as easy as maintaining a larger oscilloscope.  Better would be to make space for something the size of a Tektronix 465B or 2235 which will be easier to maintain.  Consider picking up a Tektronix 200 or K212 instrument cart to hold the oscilloscope and other things if you have room.